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Softomotive, the fastest growing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) provider trusted by over 9000 clients globally, announces the localization of its comprehensive free online RPA training to meet the increasing demand of Softomotive’s RPA solutions across 3 new markets: Japan, South Korea and Greater China.
Together with the English version, Softomotive’s courses in RPA are now available in Japanese, Mandarin and Korean, with more local versions to come. WinAutomation users in Asia can now benefit from a more tailored experience and master RPA skills through the fully localized curriculum including the on-demand video courses, fact-sheets and quizzes.“With the localized version of Softomotive’s RPA courses we are able to help even more developers and professionals master RPA skills covering Attended and UnAttended Automation.” says Marios Stavropoulos, Co-Founder and CEO for Softomotive. “By providing WinAutomation courses in Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin we are enabling the growth and adoption of RPA, making it much easier for organizations in those regions to train their employees as they seek to deploy and implement RPA”.Continuing on its mission to improve the employability quotient of professionals and developers, Softomotive began working with channel partners who have both domain and linguistic expertise to improve the quality of the translations.Several of our customers in South Korea and Japan also commented on the value of having localized courses on WinAutomation. One said that having Korean courses available is extremely helpful in educating employees and helping citizen developers start creating automations for the business much faster.The official reveal of the localized courses was done in front of clients and partners in a series of events and meetings Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan) and Bengaluru (India). During these events, Softomotive’s leadership highlighted the role of Asia-Pacific region as one where RPA adoption is expected to see tremendous growth. The successful events and meetings served as a great platform to showcase how Softomotive’s People1st Approach to RPA, a bottom-up approach giving the power of automation to employees, is enabling businesses locally in South Korea, Japan and Greater China respond to the pressures of reduced labor productivity, following the recent regulations on working hours and work styles.With the latest updates to the Softomotive Academy, learners from Japan, South Korea and China can obtain a Certification and Diploma in Robotic Process Automation.

Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation (TSX:ASP, OTCQB:ASPCF) today provided an update on the temporary unavailability of NATESTO® in Canada and South Korea, following the previous announcement of the voluntary replacement of certain NATESTO® lots released on the Canadian and South Korean markets.Acerus made minor modifications to the manufacturing process that appear to have resolved the previously identified issues and has produced a batch of NATESTO® (the “Revised Batch”). While Acerus believed the changes would have been classified by Health Canada as level III, thereby requiring only an annual notification update to Health Canada and allowing for product to be released in Q4-2019, Health Canada, after much deliberation, classified the modifications as level I, requiring the submission of a Supplemental New Drug Submission (“SNDS”) prior to the release of the Revised Batch in the Canadian market. In the event that Health Canada utilizes the full regulatory allotted time for reviewing a SNDS, Acerus would expect the Revised Batch to be released in the Canadian Market in Q1-2021. Acerus continues to work with Health Canada to facilitate an expeditious review of the SNDS and minimize market disruptions.At this time, the current supply of NATESTO® to the United States is not affected by this situation. Acerus is working with its South Korean partner to determine whether the Revised Batch can be released in the South Korean market and, if so, under what timeframes.

Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation (TSX:ASP, OTCQB:ASPCF) today announced that it will voluntarily replace certain NATESTO® lots released in the Canadian and South Korean markets, which is expected to cause temporary shortages in those markets.
Acerus has identified four commercial lots of NATESTO® released in the Canadian and South Korean markets that were found to be non-conforming during long-term stability studies, even though such lots were fully in-specification at the time of release. This post-release non-conformity is not harmful to the patient, but may result in difficulties in dispensing. The temporary shortage of the product in the Canadian and South Korean markets is expected to continue until the end of October 2019. Acerus has noted this shortage on the Drug Shortages Canada website and will continue to dialogue with Health Canada to identify solutions to try to minimize the disruption to patients in the affected markets.

Alipay, the world’s leading mobile payment and lifestyle platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, announced that it has partnered with Global Tax Free (“GTF”), a tax refund agency, to launch the world’s first paperless mobile tax refund function in South Korea.
Alipay has consistently been at the forefront of innovation that supports mobile tax refund solutions globally. In early 2017, Alipay initiated a real-time tax refund service in Europe which enabled users to instantly receive tax rebates in their Alipay accounts after scanning their Alipay QR code at airport tax counters.The newly introduced tax refund service in South Korea further simplifies the process by enabling Chinese tourists to apply for and claim tax rebates on their mobile phone app, skipping in-city and airport tax refund counters altogether. After scanning their passports at self-service kiosks prior to leaving South Korea, Chinese tourists can process tax rebates and immediately receive RMB refunds by using the Alipay mobile app to scan tax refund receipts within 90 days of purchasing.“Since 2013, Alipay has continuously explored ways to expedite tax refunds for Chinese tourists to enhance the outbound travel experience. Alipay users can already receive tax refunds at more than 80 airports and a growing number of in-city shops globally after processing at a tax counter,” said Danny Chung, General Manager of Alipay Korea.
“With this unique new function, Alipay users can skip the queue and process tax refunds on their mobiles, without filling out and submitting any paper work. This will both save time and make it easier to claim refunds. We look forward to working with our partners and leveraging our technological capabilities to bring more convenient tax refund solutions to outbound Alipay users,” added Mr. Chung.South Korea is the world’s most convenient destination for tourists to claim tax refunds and approximately 10,000 merchants in South Korea support the GTF tax refund service. The introduction of the mobile service will expedite the tax refund process in South Korea. Alipay and GTF have plans to expand the tax refund service to more merchants and other countries in Asia in the future.

Noble Four Partners (NFP), an established investor and operator based in New York, today announced a partnership with Hana Financial Investment Company Co., Ltd (Hana FI), the investment banking, capital markets, acquisition financing and institutional investor relationship operating group within Hana Financial Group, Inc. based in Seoul, South Korea. NFP will identify industrial and manufacturing control investments in North American and European industrial sectors that have South Korean and Pan-Asian growth potential. Hana FI will provide acquisition financing and assist in organizing South Korean based institutional capital. Strategic investors, with relevant industry experience, are expected to contribute additional capital and lend technical, manufacturing, and Asia specific market assistance.NFP expects to build sector-orientated platforms over several years with a focus on creating long-term value through partnering with exceptional management teams.“Hana FI is a leading South Korean financial institution with global capability to provide capital and financing and we recognize that this relationship is a crucial step in further expanding our financing capabilities and investor relationships. NFP has extensively worked with Korean investors and operators on cross-border transactions and we are now directly partnering with them in the pursuit of outbound investment and growth opportunities across North America,” said Stephen Merchant, Co-Managing Partner of NFP.“Partnering with Hana FI presents a distinct advantage in the competitive North American buyout marketplace. South Korean institutional and strategic capital demand for opportunities, from both a debt and equity perspective, is deep and significant”, added Mark Tomassini, Co-Managing Partner of NFP. “We anticipate robust growth in South Korean foreign direct investment and in-bound control North American investments,” stated Tomassini.NFP is actively involved in evaluating investment opportunities under this partnership framework.

SEOUL. She had refused to be questioned, and attended none of the 20 hearings since a trial on her impeachment began on January 3rd. She had blocked investigators from entering the Blue House, the presidential residence, and a fortnight ago she demanded the ejection of one of the justices hearing her case. It was all for nothing. On March 10th Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s first female president as well as its first to have an impeachment upheld by a court, was permanently removed from office. It cut short her five-year term by 11 months.All eight justices currently serving on the country’s constitutional court voted to uphold a parliamentary motion, on December 9th, to impeach her. That motion followed weeks of huge but peaceful crowds gathering in downtown Seoul, the capital, to call for her resignation. MPs had listed 13 constitutional violations, including dereliction of duty, abuse of power and infringing the freedom of the press. The court said it could not find conclusive evidence for most of these charges. But it was able to rule that Ms Park had divulged state secrets to Choi Soon-sil, an allegedly corrupt confidante (whose personal wealth, a special prosecution found, stands at $20m), and colluded to help her extort funds from conglomerates and profit from two cultural organisations that Ms Choi controlled.After the crime, the cover-up. The court also found that throughout the investigation Ms Park’s actions had been aimed at concealing the truth; the justices said she had consistently obstructed the ability of the National Assembly to hold her to account. It all amounted to “an undermining of the rule of law and representative democracy”; she had lost the trust of the public and “let down” her citizens.It will be much more difficult to find such unanimity within South Korean society. Over three-quarters of South Koreans felt she deserved to be impeached, according to a poll conducted shortly before the decision. But that still leaves a vocal, mostly older minority feeling that Ms Park is the victim of a left-wing witch hunt. Conservative protest groups opposing Ms Park’s removal have grown larger and shriller in recent weeks. They threatened a “bloody civil resistance” should the court uphold her impeachment (two from their camp, in their 60s and 70s, died during the protest following the verdict this morning). Over 21,000 riot police were today deployed in central Seoul. In recent weeks police buses have been set up as barricades at large demonstrations to keep Ms Park’s friends and foes from clashing. Outside the constitutional court, where police had once again divided them, the anti-impeachment camp blared out the national anthem in defiance and promised to blast the constitutional court to pieces. Cheers meanwhile rose from a jubilant anti-Park camp, striking gongs and dancing to chants of “We won”. One anxious protester who has been to every one of 19 anti-Park weekly rallies said he had not been able to eat for 24 hours. A father had taken his child out of school for the day, for a historic moment that he said was “a truer education”.Many remember the last time a court ruled on a leader’s impeachment, to citizens’ overwhelming approval: in 2004 Roh Moo-hyun, a liberal president, returned to office after 63 days when the constitutional court ruled that the reasons for his impeachment were feeble. Chon Jong-ik, part of the legal team that ruled on Roh’s case, says that set a precedent for the court’s decision today, by establishing that if public trust in a president’s ability to protect liberal democracy had been lost, he—or she—ought to be removed.An investigation into allegations of Ms Park’s influence-peddling, which first surfaced in October, has already led to more than two dozen indictments. Those include Lee Jae-yong, heir to the Samsung empire, whose trial on charges of bribery linked to the presidential office began this week; as well as Ms Park’s former chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon; and Ms Choi, who will stand trial for her Samsung entanglements on March 13th. South Koreans will expect to see progress on these, and due punishment. But an early presidential election must also be held within 60 days; many expect the National Election Commission will set it for May 9th, to give candidates as much time as possible to win over South Korea’s mass of disenchanted voters in what will be a lightning-speed campaign.Ms Park is no stranger to tragedy. In 1974 her mother died in an assassination attempt on her father, Park Chung-hee, South Korea’s long-ruling strongman. Ms Park in effect became the Blue House’s first lady. But five years later her father’s 18-year rule came to an end when he was shot over dinner by his spy chief.After that, at least, a political career for Ms Park seemed assured, and she herself believed she owed it to her dead parents. She became an MP in 1998, and in 2004 the leader of South Korea’s main conservative party. Her staunchest supporters have long been an older class of voters who stubbornly revere her father for his “miracle on the Han river”, South Korea’s phenomenal economic transformation. But some younger voters, hoping for an economic revival, also voted for her in the election in 2012 that brought her back to the Blue House as president.She has been staying put at the Blue House ever since. From tomorrow, she is likely to sleep in her guarded home in the upscale district of Gangnam, in southern Seoul. As she no longer has presidential immunity from criminal investigation, state prosecutors can indict her. A special prosecution, set up at Ms Park’s request, announced the results of its three-month investigation this week into her alleged abuse of power and the sordid collusion between political and corporate elites. It confirmed, among other findings, that 573 calls had been made on Ms Choi’s personal hotline to Ms Park, using phones registered under borrowed names, over a period of seven months last year. Editorials in the main newspapers, and Buddhist and Christian leaders alike, have urged South Koreans to accept today’s ruling. Park Hyung-jun of Sungkyunkwan University says a fair legal decision was essential for South Koreans, who have lost faith in those governing them and in their institutions. Hard generational divides have surfaced in the scandal: for Ms Park’s successor, says Mr Park (no relation), communicating well and building consensus will be crucial. Many now will be closely watching Ms Park’s reaction to the ruling. As an MP who had supported Roh’s impeachment, she said then that she accepted the court’s verdict and saw the decision as an opportunity to cultivate respect for the constitution. Now her time has come. (font: by The Economist + photo)

Helsinki, Finland and Caxias Do Sul, Brazil, PRNewswire Ixonos has signed a contract to deliver the user experience design and software for Marcopolo’s next generation infotainment solution for its future luxury coaches. The infotainment system utilizes Ixonos IVI Connect solution, which integrates in-vehicle infotainment systems with mobile devices and cloud. Ixonos also designs the human-machine-interface (HMI) and user experience for both driver and the passengers. The system will be implemented in mass production by Marcopolo in due time.
Ixonos is a creative mobile solutions company. We develop wireless technologies, software and solutions for connected devices and mobile services. Together with our corporate customers, we design products and services that let consumers enjoy inspiring mobile experiences. We enhance the competitiveness of our customer companies by enabling superior user experiences as well as faster time-to-market for their devices and services. We have offices in Finland, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, South Korea and the U.S. Ixonos Plc is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd. In 2011, the company’s turnover was 81.4 million euros and its operating profit was 1.9 million euros.
Marcopolo is a leader in the Brazilian market in the bus sector and is positioned among the biggest manufacturers in the world. It amplified production and commercialization operations and, today, it has an active presence in more than a hundred countries in five continents. Established in 1949 Marcopolo is today a global leader in bus body manufacturing with more than 18.000 employees globally.

While the United States has finally approved the Colombia, Panama and South Korea free trade agreements (FTAs), the long delay in achieving U.S. ratification continues to produce fallout.In South Korea, critics say the pact could threaten South Korea’s national interests, and opposition party members are attempting to block a vote in the parliament. Opposition is coming from South Korea’s auto industry and farmers, who fear a flood of U.S. farm exports.South Korea’s president said he will seek to renegotiate a provision that gives foreign investors the right to have international arbitrators hear a dispute in South Korea, and he has made a rare trip to parliament this week to argue for a vote.Meanwhile, Kurt Shultz, U.S. Grains Council regional director, reported U.S. market share in the Caribbean Basin continues to suffer as South American exports’ growing advantage in Colombia spilled over to a number of other markets in the region.“The primary destinations for South American corn in order of volume are Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and now Panama,” Shultz said. “In 2010, corn imports from South America totaled 4 million metric tons (157 million bushels) in the region, and we expect their sales to be the same or stronger this year.“A tremendous amount of work still needs to be done as our market share in the region is still under attack.”As an example, Shultz noted that Panama had its first shipment of South American corn at the end of 2010 and has continued importing from South America this year.“Colombia is the primary driver in this situation,” Shultz commented. “All of this highlights the need for the United States to work urgently to implement the Colombia FTA. If the process takes more than a year, U.S. farmers and exporters will continue to suffer market losses in the region.”To facilitate the implementation of this legislation, Wendell Shauman, USGC Chairman, Bart Schott, Chairman of the National Corn Grower’s Association, and Council directors Chris Corry and Floyd Gaibler will be traveling to Columbia on Nov. 27.

Every few years South Africa produces enough corn to compete for export sales. The latest statistics from the South African Grain Information Service show that in the May-April 2010/11 marketing year South Africa exported 1.05 million metric tons (41 million bushels) of white corn and 1.02 million metric tons (40 million bushels) of yellow corn.Most of the white corn was exported to Sub Saharan Africa with 613,080 mt (24 million bushels). South Korea was the largest overseas purchaser at 203,087 mt (8 million bushels). Other buyers included Italy, Mexico and Pakistan. South Korea was the largest single buyer of yellow corn (610,721 mt/24 million bu) compared to Sub-Saharan Africa at 129,137 mt (5 million bu) and smaller sales to Japan, Taiwan, Spain, Protugal and Kuwait.In the current marketing year (May–October 2011), South African corn exports have included more than 1 million mt (39.4 million bushels) of white corn and 650,000 mt (25.5 million bu) yellow corn. As the main buyer of white corn, Mexico purchased 701,279 mt (27.6 million bu) with smaller sales to Italy, Korea and Venezuela. South Korea is the leading purchaser of yellow corn (302,259 mt/11.9 million bu) followed by Taiwan (161,550 mt/6.4 million bu). Meanwhile, concerns are being raised that production forecasts may be too optimistic and that South Africa could face a very tight stocks situation from January through April, especially for white corn.

The U.S. Grains Council salutes Congress on final passage of the long-stalled free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. These agreements provide significant benefits for U.S. agricultural trade and the U.S. economy by leveling the playing field in markets where U.S. producers have been laboring under an unfair competitive disadvantage. Ratification of the agreements provides for immediate duty-free access for most U.S. goods, creating opportunities for increases in U.S. agricultural exports which will generate economic growth and U.S. jobs. The agreements are expected to generate roughly $13 billion in additional export revenue, with approximately $11 billion of the total flowing to South Korea.“This is great news,” said USGC Chairman Dr. Wendell Shauman. “Our farmer leaders have been working hard with Congressional members to demonstrate the benefits of U.S. agricultural trade. Their hard work has paid off.” Dr. Shauman and Thomas C. Dorr, USGC president and CEO, will travel to Colombia and Panama in the near future for meetings with private sector and governmental leaders aimed at regaining U.S. grain exports to the region. U.S. agricultural exports have lost market share in both countries in recent years because other exporting countries have negotiated their own free-trade agreements, excluding the United States, while the U.S. trade agreements remained stalled. In 2007, for example, Colombia imported 3 million tons of corn with the United States enjoying a 95 percent market share. In 2010, however, imports fell to 700,000 metric tons and U.S. market share shrunk to less than 20 percent.